“No, I always wore those headgears with the eye and cheek protectors, because I knew I had to try and keep my face unmarked. It was my downfall in sparring. I carried my hands far too high to adequately defend my body. Some of the guys who could get inside my punches just tore me apart in the body while leaving my head totally unmarked. But I got the black eye because I got goaded into a smoker one time.”
“What’s a smoker?” Alix asked.
“Think of it as a very low-level, pro-rules fight night,” I said. “A lot of the guys are amateurs, and the fights are usually classified as amateur fights, but the rules are more flexible. The event I did was for charity, the only reason I agreed to do it at all. The deal with a smoker is that you and your opponent can get together before the fight and talk it over with the ref as to how hard you’re going to go, headgear, stuff like that. Well, my opponent was a real cocky son of a bitch, and I didn’t know he was a former Golden Gloves champ who wanted to do the smoker more as a comeback tune-up after getting out of prison. He pressured me into ditching the headgear, saying if I kept it he’d duck the fight. The promoter begged me to keep the fight. He’d already lost two fights on the card because of injuries or guys just no-showing the whole damn thing. So, I did it as a favor to the promoter and because I was feeling cocky.”
“And the guy handed you your ass,” Alix said, laughing. “I guess it’s a change. You’ve always been the guy who’s been on top, the guy with all the answers who never let anyone give you any crap.”
“Actually, I did survive the fight,” I replied. “It went to the scorecards, where the guy won two rounds to one, so I guess I did okay. But yeah, I had that massive shiner, and two days later had to do a mock court case in front of two professors. To make it even worse, I was assigned defense in a domestic violence case. So there I was, looking like the victim of DV myself, and trying to defend a mock criminal.”
Alix’s lip trembled, and a light went off in my head. My initial idea had been right, and I had further evidence. But I didn’t want to press the issue right then, although I made a few adjustments to my travel plans mentally. “Come on,” I said, taking Alix’s hand. “The pier is great, but you said you were going to take me to an awesome Indian place, and I could go for some garlic nan bread if they have it.”
“No garlic, but what about butter and cheese?” Alix answered, her fingers entwining with mine like they had always belonged there. “It’s a cheat meal of mine.”
“Sure,” I said, then stopped. “Just a second, let me go ahead and get that transfer done. It should only take a second” I said, pulling out my phone.
Two minutes later, I had logged into my bank account, and I got the information I needed from her. “Okay, the bank says I need to give verbal authorization on Monday during business hours, but that you’ll have it credited by the end of business Monday,” I said, showing her.
Alix’s eyes filled with tears, and she smiled, wrapping her arms around me again and squeezing. “Thank you, Kade. Seriously.”
I returned the hug, ignoring that Alix was my stepsister and just enjoying that she was a beautiful woman who I found enchanting. Her hair was soft and smelled like a pure, honest shampoo, nothing fancy or high priced. Seriously, I think the girl washed her hair with Johnson’s Baby Shampoo that morning. In any case, my arms held her close, my eyes closed in appreciation of the moment, until I heard a comment off to my side.
“You know, Gerald, you never hold me like that anymore.”
“You’re nowhere near as beautiful as that girl, Jayne. Even when you were in your twenties.”
“You’re nowhere near as handsome as that young man either, Gerald.”
I opened my eyes and saw a couple standing off to the side, watching us with envy. Alix turned her face and stepped back, blushing again. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to embarrass you.”
“I’m not,” I said, still taking her hand when we started walking again.
“I guess we just look like a normal couple.”
“I know, I mean I didn’t meet you until I was nearly the age you are now,” I answered. “And we don’t look at all alike, naturally.”
“Speaking of looks, can I ask you something personal?” Alix asked. “What sort of girl is your type, anyway? I’ve never really heard a lot about your personal life. Even when you were at USC you kept things pretty under wraps.”
“How do you know I’m not gay?” I teased, eyes glinting. “Maybe I’m into guys more than girls.”